Wednesday, May 8, 2024

Book Blitz ~ A Governess Should Never... Lure A Spy - The Governess Chronicles: Book 4 by Emily Windsor #emwindsor #quillinkbooktours #quillandinkbooktours #quill_ink_tours

A Governess Should Never… Lure a Spy

(The Governess Chronicles – Book 4)

Emily Windsor

A Dangerous Spy. An even more Dangerous Governess.

Synopsis:

“So tell me, Miss Jones, why should I employ you as governess?”

A question to rouse fear within the breast of any prospective governess, unless…she wasn’t a governess at all.

Yet Amelia must secure this position by whatever means necessary as this gentleman, dubbed The Scandalous Hugh Cadwalader by fashionable society, is not all he seems. Behind the elegant finery and azure eyes is a dangerous warrior of a man, a tenacious spy for the Crown.

One who might just have turned traitor…

“Just one more question, if I may…”

With her perfect references and perfect demureness, Miss Jones appears…perfect.

Feminine guidance and distraction are required for his inquisitive ward while Hugh Cadwalader hunts a traitor in the alleys of London’s Rookery.

But can such perfection be all it seems? And was that a glimpse of golden fire within those amber eyes?

The Dangerous Spy and… The More Dangerous Governess.

One should never judge a governess by her perfectly forged references or a spy by his unblemished Hessian boots, for behind both facades lay passion untamed, subterfuge unbound and a quest for justice.

A battle of wits with only one winner… Love.

With theatres of glister and glamour, nights of shadow and menace, hairpins of poison, and…being pressed to a desk by a shirtless masculine chest, the vocation of governess has never been so perilous – to the heart.

The Scandalous Hugh Cadwalader first features in Book 2 of this series, A Governess Should Never... Deny a Duke. This is his story.

Purchase Links:

Available in e-book and paperback.

Amazon US

Amazon UK

Add to Goodreads

About the Author:

Regency Romance with Warmth, Wit & Well-tied Cravats.

Emily grew up in the north of England on a diet of historical romance and strong tea.

Unfortunately, you couldn’t study Regency slang, so she did the next best thing and gained a degree in Classics and History instead. This ‘led’ to an eight-year stint in engineering.

Having left city life, she now lives in a dilapidated farmhouse where her days are spent writing, fixing the leaky roof, battling the endless vegetation and finding pictures of well-tied cravats.

More about me can be found at:

https://www.amazon.com/author/emilywindsor

https://books2read.com/emily-windsor

https://facebook.com/AuthorEmilyWindsor

https://www.instagram.com/emilywindsorwritesregency/

https://www.bookbub.com/authors/emily-windsor

https://www.goodreads.com/EmilyWindsor

https://uk.pinterest.com/EmilyWindsorBks/

Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/gehNKr

Hosted By:

Quill and Ink Book Tours

https://quillandinkbooktours.com/

Join our team and become a Tour Host

https://forms.gle/J3ko5cnz87hr8eJc6

Tuesday, May 7, 2024

Cover Reveal ~ The Accidental Sereph - Carran Hollow Fated Mate by Maci Aurora

The Accidental Seraph
Maci Aurora
(Carran Hollow Fated Mate, #1)
Publication date: June 25th 2024
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Paranormal, Romance

When Atlas Black, a bad boy with a reputation in Carran Hollow, walks into The Hole-in-the-Wall bar investigating a demon sighting, it’s mostly business as usual until he comes face-to-face with his calix—his fated-mate. Except Ivy Day, oblivious to the world of seraphs and demons, thinks she’s stranded in Carran Hollow because a stupid bus has broken down. She just needs a ride to get to the next bus in order to get to her sister across the country. While the guy in the bar hitting on her is hotter than any human has the right to be, unless he’ll give her a lift, she doesn’t have any patience for anything else. But little does she know, Atlas is about to take her on the ride of her life—that is, as long as they can get through the demons.

Add to Goodreads / Pre-order

Author Bio:

Romance author.

Lover of stories.

Maci Aurora has been writing stories since she was a child. When she was eleven, she fell in love with reading Sunfire Historical Romances about girls who made a difference in their lives and still fell in love. In high school, a friend introduced her to Lavyrle Spencer and Judith McNaught, and from there, her writing journey was cemented in telling stories about love. Having already published many novels (all of which are threaded with romance as upper YA and New Adult titles) under the pen name, CL Walters, Maci Aurora wanted to write stories that offered the same attention to story and characters but with additional steam.

Maci writes in Hawaiʻi where she lives with her husband, their children, and their fur-babies.

Website / Instagram / Newsletter

—

Blog Tour ~ Scarred Beauty - Wylder Tales: Volume Two by Jennifer Silverwood

This is my post during the blog tour for Scarred Beauty by Jennifer Silverwood. Scarred Beauty is the second book in the Young Adult Fantasy Fairytale series Wylder Tales.

This blog tour is organized by Lola's Blog Tours and the tour runs from 1 till 14 April. You can see the tour schedule here.

Scarred Beauty (Wylder Tales #2)
By Jennifer Silverwood
Genre: Fairytale/ Fantasy
Age category: Young Adult/ New Adult
Release Date: 31 March 2024

Blurb:
When the Beast wakens, nothing will stop him from claiming his bride, even if it means destroying everyone she loves.

Vynasha is certain of two things: she is forever bound to the monster who loves her, and she can never return to Castle Bitterhelm again. Escape has come at a high cost, and though Vynasha freed the imprisoned beasts, she has awakened an ancient evil that now stalks her. For the curse is unfinished with the one the prophecy spoke of, and Grendel continues to haunt her dreams.

This time she won’t fight the oncoming darkness alone.

Ceddrych may not be her brother by blood, but their bond has only grown stronger. When the wolves they’ve found refuge with threaten them, Ceddrych and Vynasha must fight together to overcome enemies around them. Danger lurks at every corner, and only by playing the pack alpha’s games can they survive the winter.

One thing rings true in the waking world and her dreams: Grendel won’t sleep forever.

Only by claiming her powers can Vynasha protect her newfound family and prevent the ruination of Wylderland. A dark tale of enchantment and woe, perfect for fans of Margaret Rogerson and Holly Black, Scarred Beauty is the second installment of the epic Wylder Tales Series!

Excerpt:

Bang! Bang!

They jumped as the barred door rattled in its frame.

“Come out, Wanderer,” a harsh voice called from the other side. “Come and see the cost of harboring your witch!”

Vynasha wrapped her arms around her curled legs. Her awareness spiked as her new beastly senses took over. “Ceddrych?”

He spoke with the village council. What else has been said?

Ceddrych met her gaze and a flash of guilt burning behind his gaze.

The voices on the other side of the wall grew louder.

“My boy is ill because of your witch, Wanderer!” a woman shouted.

“Yes,” growled an older male, “we know you took her outside the village, no doubt to practice her dark magick.”

“Who knows what she summoned from that infernal castle!”

“—not one of us!”

“She’ll murder our children!”

Vynasha dug her forehead into her knees and placed her hands against her ears as the villagers continued to jeer beyond the walls. Until Ceddrych’s hands tugged at her wrists until she surrendered to his hold. His smile transformed his world-weary face to the boy she remembered.

A sob caught in her throat as he pressed his forehead to hers, at his acceptance, at the reminder that he had claimed her regardless. He would always choose her.

Ceddrych’s eyes flashed wolfish green as he pulled away, the only outward sign of his internal fury. He squeezed her wrists briefly in comfort as he released her. Only then, with his back turned, did he seem to grow taller. Magick of the forest, of loam and pine, snow and moss, filled the cabin as her brother crossed the cabin to unbar the door.

“Why have you come?” Ceddrych’s voice cut through the din and stunned the villagers into silence. “Why do you threaten us when Vynasha has not left my side beyond the walls of this cabin?”

“If she is so harmless, why did my Asa’s cough begin the day she arrived?” the woman from before snarled. “Tell me, how is my boy so weakened he can hardly stand from his bed!”

“What if we are all infected with her curse?” someone called.

“Never suffer a witch to live!” another cried.

“Stay back, damn you!” Ceddrych threw his arms to brace against the door frame and began to tremor. “Children fall sick every day. My own sister has been recovering from what those monsters did to her.”

Vynasha cringed at the unspoken implication. Were the villagers somehow right, after all? Had she carried some dark magick with her?

“Our children never fall ill. Our blood has always protected us,” an older male growled. “You have been with us a short time, Wanderer, you do not understand our ways.”

“He is not one of us!” the first woman shouted. “The lone wolf has no place among our pack.”

“Onya is right,” an elderly woman agreed, “you agreed to live among us, but you refuse to protect us.”

“Enough, Gira!” Balos interrupted in his deep voice. “You have said your piece. Wanderer, you know the rules of our pack…”

“Vynasha has done no spell! I would have felt it,” Ceddrych protested.

“And how do you explain Asa’s illness?” Balos asked. “How do you explain the stench of evil infecting our village? We warned you what would happen if she called the beast again. Such magick is forbidden in these lands for a reason.”

Oh, Saints, the amulet, she thought. It had been burning when she woke. Had Grendel called to her dream, or had she called to his? Bile rose to the back of her throat. Was the boy’s illness truly her fault?

“We have survived all these years because we kept noses to the ground and away from the lost city,” Balos continued. “Anyone who breaks our law draws the city’s evil to us. And there is only one punishment for such a crime.”

“You can’t!” Ceddrych cried.

“We cannot suffer a witch to live among us,” Balos snapped back.

“Vynasha is my sister, she is under my protection. And if any of you so much as look at her wrong, I will show you exactly how savage I can be.”

“You cannot endanger our lives like this!” the elderly woman from before cried. “Would you sacrifice everyone in this village for that witch? Mayhap you practice dark magick as well?”

“Better her life than yours,” Ceddrych growled.

The voices rushed together, overlapping with one another.

Vynasha gasped and stumbled forward until her forehead pressed against the door of the cabin. She couldn’t let them harm Ceddrych, she wouldn’t.

Even if I need to become the monster they fear.

The elder male who had spoken before released growling shout. “Silence!”

Vynasha’s claws bit into the wood and she drew in a breath filled with brewing violence as the male continued.

“We took this lone wolf in as one of our own, because he is a protector, by blood right. That is enough claim for him to make his home among us. Let him plead his case, but I warn you, boy, do not threaten or lie to us again unless you seek exile.”

Vynasha peeked through the crack between the wood and the world beyond. The sun blinded her sight at first, masking shady figures in heavy furs. Yet at the edge of her vision she could also see a woman with scales instead of skin and fire-red hair, three men half the size of the other villagers with beards trailing to their knees, and did she imagine a child with wings? The wylderfolk clung to the outskirts, the shadows, watching with solemn faces. But the closest villagers’s eyes were gleaming luminous emerald like the wolves, with the promise of a fight.

Ceddrych’s back was to her, his shoulders heaving as he lifted his head and faced the wolves. “All I know is that my sister was a prisoner in that castle, a victim… just like your missing daughters.”

The crowd shifted and a soft wind carried whispers of ageless sorrow.

Ceddrych straightened to his full height and turned to face a wrinkled male with feathers instead of hair, and the round eyes of a hawk. “Galtis, you and the other council named me a protector. Now you ask me to turn my back on Vynasha because you’re afraid of what you don’t understand. If it were your daughter, your sister standing here, could you abandon them so easily? Would you?”

“Our daughters knew the cost of answering the beast’s call, far better than you, Wanderer,” Galtis replied with a bird-like tilt of his head.

“You speak of what you do not understand,” Gira, the elderly woman from before, snarled and her words shredded with her voice into a wolf’s bark. “Every day she spends is another we risk bringing the wrath of her upon us all!”

The others continued to rave, their protests growing louder, pressing closer. Vynasha closed her eyes and clawed at the amulet burning like ice against her skin.

Balos broke his silence. “Our elders speak true, Wanderer. Whoever your sister was before she entered the lost city is no more. We can all see the marks of her change, the mark of evil. And you know the law. We cannot suffer a witch to live.”

Vynasha shifted on her toes and fought the flare of magick heating her blood. She braced her hands against the wooden door so hard her hands bled.

“You want blood, you’ll have to go through me first!” Ceddrych snarled as he surged forward.

Links:
- Goodreads
- Amazon
- iBooks
- Barnes & Noble
- Kobo
- Books2Read

Get the first book in the Wylder Tales series!
Craving Beauty by Jennifer Silverwood

A dark tale of enchantment and woe. Become the beast's bride or become a monster herself.

Links:
- Goodreads
- Amazon
- iBooks
- Barnes & Noble
- Kobo
- Books2Read

About the Author:
Jennifer Silverwood has been involved in the publishing world since 2012 and is passionate about supporting the writing community however she can. After studying traditional art at university, she began helping Qamber Designs bring authors’ books to life. In real life, she’s a mom of two, a passionate reader, and an occasional artist. Jennifer is the author of three series—Wylder Tales, Heaven’s Edge Novellas, and the Borderlands Saga—and the stand-alone romance titles Stay and She Walks in Moonlight.

Author links:
- Website
- Website book page
- Facebook
- Twitter
- Goodreads
- Books2Read
- Newsletter

Giveaway
There is a tour wide giveaway for the blog tour of Scarred Beauty. One winner wins a signed hardcover copy of Craving Beauty and Scarred Beauty + swag.

For a chance to win, enter the rafflecopter below:
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thursday, April 18, 2024

Quill and Ink Book Tours Presents ~ A Governess Should Never... Lure A Spy - The Governess Chronicles: Book 4 by Emily Windsor

A Governess Should Never… Lure a Spy

(The Governess Chronicles – Book 4)

Emily Windsor

Genre: Regency Romance

Release Date: Thursday, 11^th April 2024

Heat Level: Sensual. Moderate. Open door but romantic.

Notes: This book is written in British English spelling.

A Dangerous Spy. An even more Dangerous Governess.

“So tell me, Miss Jones, why should I employ you as governess?”

A question to rouse fear within the breast of any prospective governess, unless…she wasn’t a governess at all.

One who might just have turned traitor…

“Just one more question, if I may…”

With her perfect references and perfect demureness, Miss Jones appears…perfect.

Feminine guidance and distraction are required for his inquisitive ward while Hugh Cadwalader hunts a traitor in the alleys of London’s Rookery.

But can such perfection be all it seems? And was that a glimpse of golden fire within those amber eyes?

The Dangerous Spy and… The More Dangerous Governess.

A battle of wits with only one winner… Love.

The Scandalous Hugh Cadwalader first features in Book 2 of this series, A Governess Should Never... Deny a Duke. This is his story.

Contains sensual scenes.

Purchase Links:

Available in e-book and paperback.

Amazon US

Amazon UK

Get The Governess Chronicles Series

A Governess Should Never… Tempt A Prizefighter – Book 1

A Governess Should Never… Deny A Duke – Book 2

A Gentleman Will Never… Forget A Lady – Book 3

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08XB6NZ2B

Excerpt:

No. 14 Hanover Square, Mayfair, London. May 1817

“So tell me, Miss Jones, why should I employ you as governess?”

Curse it.

And Amelia lowered her gaze to the mahogany desk in order to portray thoughtful repose.

What a devious question.

Especially as there were countless reasons why the gentleman should, in fact, not employ her as governess.

She’d never educated a young lady in her entire twenty-four years of life, knew naught concerning the history of art, cared less about the proper use of semicolons, was quite hopeless at all musical endeavours and hadn’t the faintest idea what…tatting was.

Yet how arduous could it be to keep a fifteen-year-old girl occupied?

Just give her a book to read, surely?

So, with a surreptitious intake of breath, Amelia clasped her hands in what she judged to be a suitably demure fashion and raised her lashes to the gentleman who prodded her so.

A Mr Hugh Cadwalader.

His lustrous blue gaze caused that intake of breath to hitch somewhat, so she pursed her lips in a prim manner and sniffed. Governesses always sniffed. But as to his question… “I am well-versed, Mr Cadwalader, in all subjects that a young lady might have need of during her Season.”

Such as how to evade a marriage-obsessed mama at a ball, the varied usages for a yard length of silk sash and the extrication of oneself from the clutches of a lascivious duke with merely a dance card pencil.

“I see.”

Amelia thought that reply most enigmatic. “You have my references?”

“Yes,” he drawled, gathering the papers before him. “My man of affairs has attempted to verify these references, yet it seems your past employers are either not of the living or not currently residing within these isles.” With agile slender fingers, he leafed through them. “Lord Fowler is pursuing parakeets in the Amazonia, Lady Bassett is sifting through sand dunes in the former Mesopotamia, Lady Clifford is scouring Constantinople for the Ark and Lady Padgett is scouring Paris for her errant husband.”

Amelia held his gaze. “How unfortunate.” And tilted her head. “But if you find me acceptable on all other counts, might I suggest a period of probation until my references can be verified?”

That should give her enough time to search this townhouse, question the servants, note Mr Cadwalader’s movements and read any of his pertinent correspondence, all in order to write a comprehensive report for her superior at the Foreign Office.

For Amelia’s talents lay not in punctuation or musical endeavours but in subterfuge for the Crown…

About the Author

Regency Romance with Warmth, Wit & Well-tied Cravats.

Emily grew up in the north of England on a diet of historical romance and strong tea.

Unfortunately, you couldn’t study Regency slang, so she did the next best thing and gained a degree in Classics and History instead. This ‘led’ to an eight-year stint in engineering.

Having left city life, she now lives in a dilapidated farmhouse where her days are spent writing, fixing the leaky roof, battling the endless vegetation and finding pictures of well-tied cravats.

More about me can be found at:

https://www.amazon.com/author/emilywindsor

https://books2read.com/emily-windsor

https://facebook.com/AuthorEmilyWindsor

https://www.instagram.com/emilywindsorwritesregency/

https://www.bookbub.com/authors/emily-windsor

https://www.goodreads.com/EmilyWindsor

https://uk.pinterest.com/EmilyWindsorBks/

Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/gehNKr

Guest Post:

Hatchard’s Bookshop

The Scandalous Hugh Cadwalader, hero of ‘A Governess Should Never… Lure a Spy’ attempts to trail his enigmatic governess on an exhaustive gallivant around London and one of the famed shops he is led past is…

Hatchard’s, which still exists today.

The oldest bookshop in the United Kingdom, Hatchard’s was founded in 1797 at No. 173 Piccadilly by John Hatchard, a publisher and anti-slavery campaigner. The iconic shop moved a few doors down (next to the prestigious department store Fortnum & Mason!) in 1801 and has been there ever since.

Queen Charlotte, wife of King George III, was one of their first customers and it became the fashionable place to shop with the Duke of Wellington and Lord Byron frequenting it, no doubt to buy a book or ten! It now holds three Royal warrants, denoting that the business supplies to the royal family. But which genre of books…? 😁

Arranged over five floors, the wooden bay windows, beautiful old central staircase with carpeted treads, creaking floorboards beneath and snippets of memorabilia on the wall makes this a must visit for all Regency fans and bibliophiles!

So if you enjoy a romantic tale set in Regency London with a dangerous spy and a more dangerous governess, check out ‘A Governess Should Never… Lure a Spy.’

Giveaway: